When audiences last saw Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader on screen together, the Jedi master had defeated his former apprentice in a heartbreaking lightsaber duel in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Now, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has promised a rematch between both characters in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+.
After their lightsaber battle on Mustafar concluded with Vader being engulfed in flames, Kenobi left the man he once considered a brother to his fate and exiled himself on Tatooine, where he would watch over Skywalker's son Luke until the events of A New Hope. As far as audiences who only watched the live-action Star Wars films were concerned, Obi-Wan and Vader had not met again since that moment on Mustafar until they crossed paths years later when an older Kenobi joined a grown Luke on a mission to rescue Princess Leia from the clutches of the Empire.
However, Kennedy verified rumors claiming Christensen would reprise his role as Darth Vader in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series during Lucasfilm's presentation at Disney's Investor Day. "Obi-Wan Kenobi begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Revenge of the Sith, where he faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader," Kennedy revealed. "Our fans will be thrilled that Hayden Christensen will be returning in the role of Darth Vader. This will be the rematch of the century." Prior to the official announcement, rumors claimed Christensen's Anakin Skywalker would also return through a series of flashbacks to important moments during the Clone Wars before he was anointed a Sith Lord.
Episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi will be directed by Deborah Chow, who previously helmed two entries in the first season of The Mandalorian for Disney+. "We couldn’t tell the story of Obi-Wan without Darth Vader," Chow said during an interview with GamesRadar. "We will definitely see Obi-Wan and Darth Vader get into it again."
During the initial release of Revenge of the Sith and its predecessor, Attack of the Clones, audience reception towards Christensen's performance as Skywalker was far from generous. However, the prospect of seeing the Canadian-born actor return to the Star Wars franchise and have a second chance to portray the iconic Vader is exciting to many who grew up on and have been generally more favorable towards the prequels.
Of course, there is some question as to whether or not a rematch between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader will contradict the events of A New Hope. During their lightsaber battle on board the Death Star in the first Star Wars film, the dialogue between both characters suggested this was their first encounter since Vader left Obi-Wan to embrace the dark side.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will be released exclusively on Disney+.
Source: Disney, GamesRadar+